Public Health Wales report shows gaps in digital health equity remain, but understanding of how to address them grows 

Published on: 10 Jun 2026

A new scoping review from Public Health Wales and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe found that inequities in digital infrastructure between regions risk creating uneven access to innovation. While equity is increasingly referenced in the literature, its integration into regulatory, implementation and evaluation frameworks remains inconsistent. 

The review, which analysed 154 studies published between 2015 and 2024, highlights that equity in digital health cannot be achieved through isolated actions and must be embedded throughout all stages of digital health innovation development and implementation.  

It found that while existing regulations in territories such as the European Union and the US focus on privacy, safety and accountability, they do not tend to involve vulnerable or marginalised groups when developing approaches to digital health innovation. 

In addition, while most regulations focus on reducing bias in gender or ethnicity, they tend not to give as much weight to income, disability, language or location. 

Alisha Davies, Deputy Director for Research, Data and Digital, Public Health Wales, said “Digital health has the potential to transform health and care systems, and improve population outcomes, but only if equity is embedded at every stage. Our review shows that while equity is increasingly recognised, its integration into the regulatory, implementation and evaluation frameworks remain inconsistent. The findings highlight the need for a socio-technical approach, as digital innovation does not operate in isolation, alongside an equity-by-design approach to ensure digital health reduces, rather than reinforces, health inequities”.